Fleurian
Fleurians are "creatures" of legend. They are known for having special powers that range widely from healing, to detecting lies. Fleurians are in fact human beings that were born with the special powers that they have throughout their life. The majority of Fleurians are female, but male Fleurians exist.* History Their origins date back to thousands of years before the time of the Creation Era. It was in those times that the first Fleurians were born. The first Fleurians were seen as outcasts when, through childhood, they came to realize their powers. The Beginning The first Fleurian, a young boy named Jed Mesay'ah, learnt of his powers at the age of 7. Throughout his life afterwards he used them daily, for simple tasks, and to fight back the bullies that plauged him through his childhood. At the age of 12, he broke the arm of another boy in a fit of rage, as the boy consistently teased him and made fun of his abilities. It was then he realized his powers were not something he should be able to use freely, and he began to stifle the urge to use them even in menial daily tasks as he had for years. Several years later, he learnt of at least two other people who supposedly had powers similiar to his. When he came of age, he left his home in search of them. He found one was killed when a villager branded him as a murderous theif. The high-strung feelings against the young people who had these powers caused them to have to be weary, and not publically display they had the abnormal abilities that they did. As time grew, it became known that the Fleurians, as they had been coined by a girl who was among their so-called "breed", were spreading fairly rapidly, at least five being born a year. Quest for Others Jed's quest to find others like him, which hit a bumpy spot when he found that one of the two others who were alive that he knew of had been killed, carried on for several years. He soon discovered in his travels that other Fleurians were being named. A small band of children who had special abilties were in a village he had stopped at during his travels. The children were supposedly held hostage not moments before by a brutal shoppe owner. A young woman, whom was one of the two others Jed originally learned about, was found by him, encircled by angry townsfolk who threatened to kill her and the children. Jed looked on in horror as the children hid behind the woman. Soon, their chance to scatter had come when Jed came to his senses and distracted a handful of the townsfolk. After having to knock out a small group of the townspeople to get them to flee and leave them alone, Jed introduced himself to the first Fleurian he met other than himself. The two soon chose to take to the road together after the village's hostilities. High-Road Jed and the woman, Haley, travelled together and swapped one another's story. Among their travels, when it was discovered that the ever-growing presence and awareness of Fleurians caused them danger, as bounty hunters and highwaymen came after Fleurians on a daily basis, it was decided that they must use their powers to defend themselves. The two vowed to one another to never use their powers for evil purposes intentionally, but understood that in the defense of themselves and others like them, repercussions were going to come, just as they would if they had defended themselves with the traditional steel sword. As they travelled, in their frequent stops in woodlands they asked one another questions about themselves to try to better understand their powers, read any books they thought would help, be it about wisdom or of the world, and continually pursued to find the path they had to take to harness their powers for a greater good. Training & The Birth of an Age As they travelled, practicing the powers they pinpointed that they had and were strongest in, the two became forces that were to be reckoned with. Wanted posters among towns labelled them as "users of dark magic" that were "incredibly dangerous". The question of whether they were really vicious, evil outcasts, or if the common-place people were close-minded and ruthless never crossed their mind. They knew they were innocent, and anyone not viewing them as such, or anyone who didn't accept them as they were were not friends of theirs. Enemies were easily made for them, but they encouraged people, despite the threats, that they meant no harm and could coexist peacefully. A young Fleurian whom found the two cornered in a tavern was inspired when neither waivered that they were good people who should be treated equally so peace could exist, even with daggers in their face. Once the two escaped, the boy met with them and led them to a small abanonded shed in town that housed several other kids, and a handful of adults whom all were people like them. They begged to follow the two who were seen as masters of their powers to them and train with them. With much consideration, they agreed to let the group follow. The two, regardless of still discovering things about themselves and the powers they had, trained the people who had followed them with all the knowledge they had procured. The proposal of a book of laws was given by Haley when she had realized they had a following growing, not only in the group they had, but in the outside world, as word of Jed and Haley's ways were spread. The book was written by hand as much as possible in one sitting, and finished along the road, which took several months. In this time frame, more ideas came to mind to better themselves and followers. In this time, Haley coined herself, Jed, and others like them "Fleurians". With a book of law, and their order established, and two obvious leaders, their group grew into an organized existance, growing stronger as they trained together. The two continued on the road with their group for several years. Establishment Their Book of Law was one of the first bricks to be placed in what they were building into what Haley called the Order of the Fleurians. After several years of being on the road, and their group growing to a very large size, it was proposed mutually by the two that Fleurians build themselves a home. If they could not exist in peace with common-place people, a home was what was required so they could thrive in peace and stay in one spot. They continued to travel, constantly looking for a place to begin work of a home. Their chance came when they found a location that was well-hidden, but could easily access the outside world. As they weren't workers, and weren't architects, those who volunteered studied construction and architecture together, while a place just outside the proposed build zone, hidden well in the forests, would be their temporary home, a simple campsite. After several months, the first bricks were laid according to the plans they thought up. With use of magic and the sweat of their own brow, the temple, their home, slowly rose. When in the middle of construction, something went wrong, and the building collapsed. Afterwards, Jed and Haley decided plans weren't going to help them any, and they began to personally oversee the second attempt and building the structure, with a new design. The new design featured a large dome cieling in the middle of the temple, and was optimized for living comfortably and spaciously, but also for their cause, their purpose, and their ways. With luck, ingenuity, and trial and error, the building was finished, and their home was completed. Soon afterwards, Jed and Haley, now appointed as masters offically, dedicated themselves completely to training others, and to bettering their existance. They also offically formed what was known as The Order of the Fleurians, with their most skilled and educated joining the council of the Order. For a few years then on, the Order and the Fleurians themselves existed and bettered themselves in peace. The First War As outsiders learned more of the Fleurians, and as the Fleurians ventured into the outside world to seek supplies, and possible friendships, villagers, townsfolk, and countrymen alike found thesmselves siding between one another, of whether or not The Order was dangerous, and even if it was evil. War seemed to be growing, as attacks on Fleurians outside of their home became more frequent and violent, and as villagers fought each other in a dispute of what was wrong and right. Their Order was more organized than ever, with ranks, and "classes" of Fleurians whom were stronger in certain aspects than others. As well as having themselves organized, their contacts in the outside world were as well. The Order was now recognized as a world power in the lands, and its friends and allies, and its enemies, plainly showed themselves. As people who were against the Fleurians grew together in a common cause, it was obvious the time of war was upon them. Not only did average citizens arm themselves for the first war that was about to start, but nations and townships did as well. In turn, those who supported the Fleurians took arms. Under the heading of Jed and Haley, the first battle took place on the fields of Seridon. Two sides, one being a handful of Fleurians and a battalion of infantry from a nation that sided with the Fleurian's cause, and the armies of D'Rari who opposed their existance, clashed. The struggle raged on for a day and a half until finally the D'Rari infantry were forced to retreat. Their victory was rousing, and word of it spread quickly. The time of war was upon them, and they had the upper hand. The war raged for months with armies continually clashing, and triumphing over one another, but despite generals and armies, much of the war was fought by groups of 10 or smaller, consisting of Fleurians and their allies. Skirmishes with enemy patrols and groups were the mainstay battle. And though the larger battles helped in every way, the war was fought by these small groups of Fleurians and allies, and by enemy patrols and squads. The skirmishes assisted in not only lowering numbers of the Fleurian's enemies, but because the groups were small, they were able to infiltrate enemy strongholds, gather information easier, and they had an essence of surprise. The battles, on the other hand, assisted in greatly reducing enemy numbers, but also helped in distracting the enemy's main forces, and therefore the only thing left not fighting the Fleurian armies was the small patrols and squads. The war continued on, with successes and defeats. Their cause never waivered, though.